Amazon's Alexa+ Launch Sparks Concerns Over Apple's Next-Gen Siri Deployment

Amazon's Alexa+ launch has been rocky, with reliability issues, missing features, and basic commands failing. This highlights the challenges of replacing a mature voice assistant with generative AI. Apple's decision to delay shipping its next-gen Siri update may be frustrating, but it could pay off with a more personal and powerful Siri when it's finally ready.

Amazon's recent launch of Alexa+, its overhaul of the Alexa voice assistant built on large language model technology, has been met with significant challenges. The new version, available as a limited preview on select Echo devices, was intended to blend the conversational abilities of generative AI with Alexa's legacy skills. However, early reviews and user feedback have highlighted severe reliability issues, missing features, and basic commands failing [1].

According to a detailed review by The New York Times, Alexa+ struggles with more fluid conversations and impressive new capabilities but fails to match the dependability of the original Alexa. New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose summarized the state of Alexa+ as not yet recommendable, noting that it lagged behind other AI voice assistants and was noticeably worse than the original Alexa at some basic tasks [1].

Amazon executives have acknowledged that the product still has "edges to sand," as the hybrid deterministic/LLM approach struggles to match the dependability of the old Alexa. This highlights the difficulty in replacing a mature voice assistant with generative AI, especially when users expect instant, consistent results for simple tasks [1].

Apple, which has faced a similar technical challenge with its next-generation Siri project, has opted to delay shipping its more personal Siri update. The company reportedly aimed to merge Siri’s existing deterministic systems with a new generative AI layer but had to scrap the initial attempt and start over. Apple is now targeting spring 2026 for its Siri update, potentially delivering a more robust and reliable AI-powered assistant [1].

Elon Musk, head of the artificial intelligence startup xAI, has announced that the company will make its Grok 2 chatbot open source next week. This decision marks a notable departure from the trend towards closed-source AI models currently observed in the industry. Musk's move to open source Grok 2 aligns with xAI's commitment to transparency and community engagement, which could foster greater innovation and collaboration within the AI community [2].

In contrast, OpenAI has shifted towards a more closed-source model, providing only the trained parameters or weights of its new AI reasoning models rather than full access to training data, source code, or development methods. This strategy supports the growth of OpenAI's commercial offerings, including paid API access for businesses and developers [2].

The AI industry is witnessing a significant divergence in strategies concerning open source. While some companies like OpenAI are opting for a more closed and commercially-driven model, others like xAI are choosing to promote openness. This difference in approach could have far-reaching implications for innovation, collaboration, and trust within the AI community [2].

The challenges faced by Amazon's Alexa+ and Apple's delayed Siri update serve as a reminder of the technical complexities involved in integrating generative AI with mature voice assistants. The decision by xAI to open source Grok 2 reflects a strategic effort to enhance transparency and community engagement, potentially setting a new precedent in the AI industry.

References:
[1] https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/09/alexa-plus-launch-bugs-delays-siri-comparison/
[2] https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/elon-musk-says-xai-will-open-source-grok-2-after-openai-launches-open-ai-models-2767181-2025-08-06